Drops of Jupiter
by BarnCat23
Summary: "The Prophecy was foretold long ago. It was void of any truth when my parents closed the second Breach. but it was too late. If you can hear this...my name is Abigail Becket...Leader of the Resistance." Book 2 in the "Twisted Fate" trilogy.
1. Chapter 1

**I** was deep into reading the first Twilight book when I heard a knock at my door. I was happy for the interruption. I don't like vampires but I lost a bet and had to read it. I dropped the book on my bed and walked to the door. I opened it and smiled when I saw my friend Catharine. "Hey Cat" I said. She was as tall as me, maybe a little taller, with black hair and green eyes. "Hey, Abby. Wanna go get a bite to eat with me?" she asked, her British accent clean and clipped.

"Please. I'm dying in here" I said, following her out. Cat laughed as we walked down the hallway out of the barracks. She had a funny laugh; it was more like a quiet cackle than a laugh, actually. Cat was three years older than me and was definitely more responsible. She was like the overbearing older sister I never had. And because of that we got along.

We walked into the mess hall and, as usual, it was half empty. Cat loaded up her plate while I just got an apple and found a table to sit at. Cat sat across from me. "How far along are you in Twilight?" she asked. I sighed in great exaggeration. "I don't know…chapter three, I think" I said.

"It's _that_ bad?" she asked.

"For me? Yes. That dill weed is going to pay for making me read it."

"You spurred him on, Abby."

"Yeah, but making me read Twilight? That's a dork move."

"I just think he likes you. That's why you don't get along." I nearly choked to death on my bite of apple, making Cat laugh. "What?! He's such an ass all the time. Why would he like me?" I asked. She shrugged and left the subject alone. Another reason I love Cat. We sat in quiet for all of about three minutes before my uncle's girlfriend, Isabelle, sat with us. "Hey, how's it going?" she asked, sliding into a seat next to Cat.

"Good…I guess" I said, depressingly as I took another bite of apple.

"She's grumpy because Luka made her read Twilight if she lost a bet. And she lost so she's been reading it all morning" Cat explained to Isabelle. Isabelle nodded in understanding just before my uncle himself sat down next to me. He ruffled up my hair and grinned as I tried to press it back down. "Hey, baby Becket. Get into any trouble lately?" he asked. I sighed. "No, I've been chained to my room" I said, still patting down my hair.

"Do you wanna get into trouble?" he asked, using the playful tone he always uses before we do something insane.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked. Cat groaned and dropped her head in her hands while Isabelle shook her head muttering, "Here we go again."

**The** Marshall's office never seemed to change much. I mean, I've been there so many times I know the place better than the Marshall himself. Yeah, I've been in there _that_ many times. _So many times_. Stacker retired four years before I got here, so I never knew that Marshall. The new Marshall is my grandfather, which in some cases could be a conflict of interest, but he always seems to give me proper punishment for my…activities. He sighed exhaustively as he looked at me. "Abigail, you know I love seeing you, but this isn't exactly what I meant when I said we needed to spend more time together" he said.

"It wasn't as bad as last time, though. That's a start right?" I asked.

"You put blue dye in the showers, Abigail. I'd say that's as bad as last time" he said.

"No, 'cause last time all I did was swap the shampoo with the body soap so everyone had gloopy hair for a day" I pointed out.

"This can't continue anymore. I regret letting my son corrupt you, as he's done, but this needs to stop. This time, you'll get a warning. Next time—should there be a next time—you will be suspended. Understood?" I nodded and he dismissed me. I shut the office door behind me and started down the hallway. Okay, so you could call me a troublemaker. I just do little stuff, it's not like I spray painted something foul on a Jaeger…oh, wait, I did that, too. I cursed my troublemaking genes and sat on my bed. I glanced over at the Twilight book and sighed. _Why did I ever agree to this?_ I reluctantly picked up the book, opened it, and started reading.

I was laying half way off my bed, my head just grazing the floor, as I finally reached chapter four. I'm a slow reader, yes, but I go faster when it's a book I want to read. I groaned and flipped the page. It felt like I'd been reading forever. My mother would have my head if she knew I was reading something to do with vampires. She's real strict on things like that. The blood was rushing to my head so I sat up and swung my legs off the bed. "Knock knock" I heard a familiar, annoying voice and looked up. I had left my door open, and now I regretted it. I sighed and rolled my eyes. "What do you want Luka?" I asked.

"The new guys are here, but don't tell anyone I told you. The Marshall would have my head. Look, you didn't hear this from me, but apparently it's a brother team your age" Luka said. Luka was thin and scrawny—not at all like a Jaeger pilot should look. He had black hair that was cut into short spike in the front. He was absolutely annoying. "So…?" I asked.

"So, you should be excited. The girls are sayin' they're pretty hot" he said.

"You're ridiculous, Luka. Get out" I said, pointing at the door.

"Don't say I didn't help you out. I put in a good word for you with them." My eyes went wide and I stood. "You. Did. What?" I asked, sternly. I shoved him out the door and shut it. I sighed just before I heard a knock on the door. I rolled my eyes and opened the door. "Luka, I told you I'm not-" I stopped mid-sentence when I saw someone I didn't know outside my door. He was taller than be by what looked like a whole foot, ash blonde hair, and warm brown eyes. "Sorry to bother you, I just wanted to apologize for my cousin's behavior" he said, his voice silky smooth.

"Your cousin? As in you're related to _Luka_?" I asked.

"Yes," he chuckled. "My name is Jackson Stone."

"Abigail Becket" I said.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, but I should go make sure my cousin doesn't screw anything else up" he said.

"That might be a good idea" I said. He smiled and nodded before turning and walking down the hallway. Wow, never thought I'd say this, but Luka _was right_. At least, one of them is good looking. I shook my head and shut the door. I turned back to my bed and eyed the Twilight book waiting for me.

**Another** three hours of reading and I felt like a zombie. I was tired, limp, and felt like my eyes were on fire. I closed the book and tossed it across the bed, sitting up and stretching. My muscles felt like Jell-O. I couldn't stand sitting there one more minute, so I threw on jeans and a jacket, then left the cell known as my room. I went where I usually can think. Isabelle showed it to me and told me I could go whenever I needed to get away.

It was a small balcony overlooking Gypsy Danger's spot. I was starting to walk up the stairs to the balcony when I heard the strumming of a guitar. I was surprised I recognized it—I hadn't heard the sound in years. It was a smooth tossing melody. I slowly walked up the stairs, the sound getting louder and louder. I stopped beside the doorway and listened. Then the singing came…

"_Now that she's back in the atmosphere, with drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey, hey,_" some more strumming. "_She acts like summer and walks like rain, Reminds me that there's a time to change, hey, hey, hey_. _Since the return from her stay on the moon, she listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey, hey, hey_. _But tell me, did you sail across the sun? Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded and that heaven is overrated? Tell me, did you fall from a shooting star? One without a permanent scar, and did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?_"

It was a male voice. I slowly peered around the corner and saw someone sitting, facing the railing of the balcony, strumming an ebony guitar. From the back, it could have been anyone I knew. He glanced briefly over his shoulder and I quickly retreated behind the wall. _Crap_, I thought. "What brings you up here?" I heard him ask. I reluctantly walked around the corner, now visible, and stood in the doorway. "Definitely not to sing or play guitar," I said. He chuckled lightly at that. "What song was that?"

"Drops of Jupiter…came out in nineteen eighty-one" he said.

"It was beautiful. Where'd you learn to play?" I asked, sitting next to the mystery man. His face was slightly shaded and I couldn't get a good look without looking like I was staring. "My dad taught me when I was little…he only taught me a couple of chords and I learned the rest on my own" he said. His voice didn't sound a bit familiar. I couldn't place anything about him. And that annoyed the crap out of me. "Do you have a name?" I asked, curiously.

"Everybody does" he said. I suspected he knew he was making me even more suspicious by saying that. He was probably having fun with it, too. "Right, but what's yours?" I pushed.

"Who says I have one?"

"You just said everybody has one, so why wouldn't you?"

"Touché" he said, still lightly strumming.

"Well, if you can't tell me your name, then can you play the rest of the song?" I asked. He smiled and started strumming the same melody as before.

"_Now that she's back from that soul vacation, tracing her way through the constellation, hey. She checks out Mozart while she does Tae-Bo, Reminds me that there's room to grow, hey. Now that she's back in the atmosphere I'm afraid that she might think of me as Plain ol' Jane told a story about a man who was too afraid to fly so he never did land. But tell me, did the wind sweep you off your feet? Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day and head back to the Milky Way? And tell me, did Venus blow your mind? Was it everything you wanted to find? And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?" _


	2. Chapter 2

**For a week**, I didn't dare ask around about my mystery man—that would create all kinds of gossip I didn't want. I kept it to myself and tried to figure it out alone. I was in the middle of trying to figure out who it was when Cat came to my open door holding a white letter in her hand. I stopped pacing and raised an eyebrow at her. "From your folks" she said, holding it out to me. I took it and nodded in thanks as she left. I sat down at my desk and pried open the letter.

_Dearest Abigail,_

_Your father and I hope things are going well for you in the Shatterdome. Things are great here at home—not as great without you, though. I just wanted to tell you we miss you and are thinking of you._

_Love Always,_

_Mom_

I sighed and sat back in my chair. I supposed this letter was an early birthday letter. My birthday was in four days, but they always send things early. I put the letter on my desk and stood, putting on my jacket and walking out of my room. I slipped past several close calls of pumping into friends, enemies, or relatives in the halls as I went to the hanger.

I slipped past a few mechanics and started up the stairs to the balcony. And, as usual, guitar strumming filled the staircase on my way up. I stopped in the doorway and saw the mystery man was there, playing his guitar. I walked over and sat a foot to the left. He didn't stop playing. He just glanced at me and smiled, continuing to play. It was a different melody than before. It had a sadder feeling to it.

"_Ten miles from town, and I just broke down, Spittin' out smoke on the side of the road. I'm out here alone, just tryin' to get home, to tell you I was wrong but you already know_. _Believe me I won't stop at nothin' to see you…so I've started runnin'. All that I'm after is a life full of laughter, As long as I'm laughin' with you. I'm thinkin' that all that still matters is love ever after, after the life we've been through, 'Cause I know there's no life after you_."

It might have been a trick of the light, but I thought I saw him looking at me when he sang the last line. I know, stupid. Probably didn't happen, but I can dream, can't i? "Which song is that?" I asked.

"Life After You by Daughtry" he said.

"I'll have to write that one down, along with the others. And…possibly a name?"

"Nope."

"Oh, come on! Not even a hint?" he thought about it a minute. "No" he finally said. I sighed in exaggeration. "Why is it such a big deal?" I asked, turning to face him. It was then I noticed how bright his eyes were. Even in shadow they were full of color. He stopped playing and turned to me, as I had done to him. "Why are names important?" he asked.

"Why aren't they?" I countered.

"Why do you care so much?" he asked.

"Why don't you care at all?" I asked.

"Names aren't everything" He said, simply.

"Ha! That wasn't a question" I pointed out.

"Neither was that" he said, with a smirk. I crossed my arms in defeat and he smiled. He was harder to beat at these types of things than Luka was. Well, because he was actually smart, unlike Luka. "Why can't you tell me?" I asked.

"Why can't you leave it alone?" he asked.

"Why do I bother with you?"

"That's the age old question, isn't it? Why bother?"

"Some people are worth bothering?"

"Am I one of those people?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Obviously not, but nothing is, right?"

"Do you sit around all day coming up with questions?"

"Do you?"

"I asked you first, didn't i?"

"Touché." That made me want to smile in victory, but through the word game somehow we had edged closer, and I was too close. Did I want to kiss him? Hmm…yes. Did i? No. being so close, it made me wonder, did he want to kiss me as much as I wanted to kiss him? I mean, I hardly knew the guy. And yet, there I was, wishing I could _kiss_ him. "I should go…" I said. He sat up straight and went back to strumming his guitar. He had this look on his face that I couldn't read. He had his head down as I stood. I hesitated before leaving the balcony. _Why did I hesitate?_

**Lunch** the next day with Catharine couldn't have been more depressing. She sat there talking while I only half listened. I was too busy looking around, thinking, _one of these people could be him_. I startled when I heard a few snaps and I looked at Cat. "Earth to Abigail! Have you heard a word I said?" she asked.

"Sorry…I'm just not really in the mood today, Cat" I said. She sat back and looked at me with her signature I'm-trying-to-figure-you-out look. "Who is he?" she asked, suddenly.

"What? Who is who?" I asked, trying to look like her question didn't affect me.

"The guy that is obviously on your mind right now" she said. I sighed depressingly and leaned my elbows on the table. "I don't know. He's most likely a figment of my imagination. Am I crazy? I'm crazy right?" I asked. She looked at me like I was crazy for a second. Then she snapped out of it and smiled at me. "Oh, you've got it bad. Tell me his name" she said.

"I can't."

"Why?"

"I don't even know it myself" I said. She propped her elbow on the table and rested her head on her fist. "So…then who is he?" she asked, puzzled. I threw my hands up in the air. "I have no idea!" I said.

"Well, you sure are in a pickle" she said.

"Cat…I don't know anything about him. So why can't I stop thinking about him?"

"It's this thing called love. Ever felt it before?" she asked, humorously.

"It's not love if you don't know the guy!"

"Oh my god, Abby, have you seen the Disney movies? Half the princesses don't know the guy they end up with! But they end up together, anyway!"

"They're animated characters!"

"It's a fact! If it's love it's love. It doesn't matter who they are or where they came from" she said. I sighed grudgingly. "I hate it when you're right" I mumbled. She smiled and sat up straight. "And I'm always right" she said. I stood and left the mess hall. I needed to think things over alone. I went into my room and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw someone standing in front of my desk, looking at the pictures I had pinned to the wall. I couldn't tell who it was because whoever it was was wearing a baseball cap. It was obviously a guy, though. "Um…can I help you?" I asked. He didn't startle, which told me he knew I was standing there.

He turned around and he was wearing sunglasses. Go figure. I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms. "Well? What do you want?" I asked.

"Okay, I get that I'm wearing a disguise, but isn't it obvious?" he asked.

"Not really, but nothing is, right?" he smiled at that, and I knew then it was my mystery man. I smiled and shut the door. "Isn't this a bad idea, seeing as you're hiding yourself from everyone?" I asked. I sat on the bed and gestured for him to sit next to me. After a minute of standing quietly, he sat. "I wanted to see you" he said, not looking at me.

"Same here, actually," I said, making him look at me. "You look ridiculous in that disguise." He chuckled and repositioned his glasses. "Why can't you take it off?" I asked.

"I don't look normal…and some people don't take kindly to it. So I hide my identity" he said.

"Hell, I don't look normal, but you don't see me wearing a disguise. You don't have to hide. It's just us here. And, trust me, I won't judge" I said. He looked at me with a sad smile and then averted his attention. He was obviously thinking about it. "I can't" he said, firmly. I hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder. I could feel him tense—guarding himself.

_What could be that bad?_ I could see most of his face already, I just couldn't see from the bridge of his nose and up. I reached for his glasses and he gently grabbed my wrist, stopping me just short. His touch sent chills up my arm that I inwardly slapped myself for. He placed a kiss on the back of my hand then stood and left my room. Leaving me wondering what the hell I was doing.


	3. Chapter 3

**I** didn't sleep at all the past three nights. I just laid awake unable to think of anything but my mystery man. The morning of my birthday, I was already awake when Cat came knocking on my door. Her it's-your-birthday pep talk didn't do much. She finally convinced me to get dressed and go to the mess hall with her. So I showered and put on jeans and a t-shirt, then followed her to the mess hall. I didn't feel like I eating so I went straight to a table while Cat got her breakfast.

She sat down across from me and, after noticing my frown, she gave me a what-for look. I just shrugged and looked around the mess hall. She sighed. "Abby, don't let a guy get you down. It's your nineteenth birthday, for god's sake. Try to be happy, have a good time, laugh a little" she said. I sighed and nodded, trying to please her with an answer. I love Cat to death, but sometimes I wish she'd stop being so…upbeat. "No promises" I said.

"Why would I expect any?" she asked, with a smile. I attempted to return the smile. I didn't know why I was overthinking things all of a sudden. I never thought about anything—I just did it. But for some reason I was starting to think about everything and feel things I've never let myself feel. I hated it.

**After** breakfast with Cat, I went back to my room. I fell back on my bed and sighed. _Worst. Birthday. Ever_. All of the sudden, the lights turned out. I stood and went to the light switch. It was still up. I put on my jacket and opened the door. No lights were on anywhere I could see. I stumbled to my desk and fumbled in the drawer, pulling out my flashlight. I turned it on and left my room.

I left the barracks and picked a random direction to start walking. Anywhere I went, the lights were out. I thought it was just a power outage—a normal thing that occurs sometimes. But, no. it was no power outage. I didn't know it then, though. I was walking down a hallway toward the hanger when I heard loud booms. They were sporadic and really loud. I went into the hanger, but there was nothing.

I walked through the empty hanger, looking over things that could have caused the noise. It didn't have to be a weapon. _It could've been something big falling over in the dark…right?_ I sighed and kept walking. "And this is when the scary killer with the hockey mask jumps out" I said, quietly. Why did I have to think of that? I have no idea.

I hit my forehead and started for the exit. I got a few inches from the door when something grabbed my arm and pulled me behind the wall. I nearly dropped the flashlight. I would have used it to see what was holding me, but whoever it was turned it off. "Don't. Say. A. Word" someone said, next to my ear. I was starting to panic when I saw a flicker of light shining on the owner of the voice's eyes. I gasped. "What are you doing?" I whisper yelled. "You scared me half to death."

"I said be quiet" he said. He pinned me against the wall with one arm, and peered around the corner out the exit. "What is going on?" I whispered. I heard him sigh. "Will you stop talking?" he asked.

"I would if you would tell me what the hell is going on" I said. He sighed again. "You've read the file already, right? You know what was supposed to happen?" he asked. My eyes went wide. "u-uh, what file?" I asked.

"Don't play stupid, Abigail. Did you read it or did you not?"

"Okay, I read it" I said.

"So you know then. When they said _Shatterdome ruins_ they were serious. You weren't supposed to be here when this happened, but you are."

"When what happened? Who is here?"

"The machines, Abigail, the machines" he said, just before he looked around the corner again. He seemed crazy. It wasn't supposed to happen anymore, and he wasn't supposed to know about it. So why were both happening? I didn't know. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me around the corner with him. The backup lights were on—dim white/blue fluorescent lights—so I noticed he had a gun in his other hand. "Where did you get that?" I asked, trailing behind him.

"A friend" he said. He didn't look back at me. Probably because he had nothing to hide his face in the light. "What person gives there friend a gun?" I asked. He stopped suddenly at a four-way intersection and looked left and right. "Shit" he said, under his breath. He quickly backed me against the wall on the left side and made a be-quiet gesture.

He slightly looked around the left corner but quickly pulled back. Just after he pulled back, the side of the wall where his head was was blown off by something, making a loud ear-piercing sound. "When I tell you, you run like hell, got it?" he asked. I had no choice but to nod. He put his left side flesh with the wall of the hallway and shot several times around the corner. "Go!" he called. I did as told and ran like hell down the hallway.

I slid to a stop at a corner a long ways down the hallway. As I stopped I saw a real life Terminator. Okay, so it didn't look exactly like that, but close. I didn't have time to stare, because it noticed me. I quickly turned and slipped on my feet, falling forward onto the floor. I quickly started crawling but was pulled to a stop. It felt like there was an anchor tied to my ankle. I twisted and saw it grab hold of my ankle and start to drag me back. I looked for a way out, and saw a broken pipe laying against the wall. I grabbed it as I passed it and hit the Machine's head with it. It stopped momentarily, long enough for me to get up and run the other way.

I slid around a corner, limping on my left ankle, and stopped. I backed against the wall and held my breath. These Machines were definitely creepy. They were average human height, they had round heads attached to think necks, broad shoulders that slimmed into an hour glass figure, and thin legs. Not to mention they had no eyes. I heard the clink of metal on metal—it was coming closer. I closed my eyes for a minute and took a shaky breath. I had no idea what to do.

I could've run, yes. But did i? No. the wall beside my head/shoulder blew out, and a searing heat hit the side of my face. I dropped down onto my lower back and covered my head as more chunks of the wall blew out. Debris littered the floor beside and in front of me. My ears were ringing with the high pitched screech of whatever it was using to blow up the wall. Then it suddenly stopped and everything was quiet. That was either a good sign…or I was about to die.


	4. Chapter 4

**It** wasn't quiet for long. The mystery man, the one that told me to run, was now kneeling in front of me. His mouth was moving but I couldn't hear him. I couldn't hear anything. After a minute the sounds all came rushing back to me and I could hear him.

But what he was saying wasn't as important as what he looked like. His eyes were shiny emeralds that were unnaturally bright. He didn't look much different than a normal person, so I didn't get why he hid himself. "Are you okay?" he asked, frantically. I blinked and slowly pushed myself up into a sitting position. I still felt heat on the side of my face. I felt where it came from and my fingers were coated in blood when I pulled them back. "Um…define _okay_" I said.

"Can you stand?" he asked. I stood up and found it hard to put pressure on my left ankle. I looked around and didn't see any machines. "Where'd he go?" I asked, turning back to him. That's when I noticed the little scrapes here and there on his face. It was the same on his bare arms, except on his left arm there was an actual piece of skin missing. Like, as in, the muscle and everything in that spot was gone. There was a silver metal where you would think the bone would be. My eyes widened and I looked up at him. "You…you are one of them?!" I asked, a little louder than I'd hoped for.

"Not in the traditional sense" he said, carefully picking his words.

"But you're metal," I said, taking tiny steps in the opposite direction of him. He reached for my arm and I jumped back. "Don't touch me! Don't!" I said.

"This is why I didn't tell you, Abigail. I'm not here to hurt you; I'm here to protect you. You need to get out of here and obviously you can't do that alone" he said.

"I think I'll take my chances" I said. I turned and ran the other way. And I didn't stop running until I reached the Marshall's office. I stopped at the door and looked back before opening it. Nothing had changed in the room. So either grandpa left or just no one was here at all. I hurried to the desk and pulled open the right hand drawer. His 9mm was still in the drawer, so obviously he was never here. Oh, wait, he's out of state. I inwardly slapped myself and grabbed the gun.

I held it tightly as I walked the hall to the barracks. I needed to see if anyone else was inside. Maybe people had gotten out. Or maybe they were still inside. You know, this all seemed so crazy at the time. But I went with it. This could have all been a big prank or a dream. But when I went to the barracks I knew it couldn't have been a dream or a prank. Catharine's leg was pinned under two or three—what looked like—walls in the middle of the hall. I quickly hurried over to her and kneeled beside her. She looked at me with feral eyes. "What the hell are you still doing in here, Abby?" she asked.

"Obviously coming back to save your ass" I said. She scoffed and tried wriggling out of the rubble. I tried lifting the rubble off of her, but I wasn't strong enough. "Abigail, there isn't time for this" I heard a familiar voice when No-Name kneeled beside me. "There isn't time to help my friend? Bull" I said. I started pushing again and he sighed. He got on the other side and started pushing the rubble up. "Who is this?" Cat asked.

"I don't know, ask him" I said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Is this the guy? The guy that doesn't have a name?" Cat asked.

"Cat, this isn't the time" I said. Cat finally was able to wriggle out and we dropped the rubble. Her right leg was bloody and it looked to be bent sideways. "Oh Cat" I said.

"It's not that bad—oh, I guess it is," she laughed nervously. "I'll be fine. You go."

"No, I'm taking you with me" I said. I stood and got behind her, lifting under her arms to get her up. I put her arm around my shoulder and she shifted her weight on me. "Abby, you have to go without me" she said. We started leaving the barracks and into the hallway. No way in hell was I about to leave her. "Cat, if it takes my dying breath to get you out of here, I'm doing it" I said.

No-Name led us down the hallways toward the mess hall. The mess hall was on the way out, and I wanted to check and see if anyone else was still inside. We were walking toward the entrance of the mess hall, when Chuck and Isabelle slowly walked into the hallway. "I told you there were more people" I said. No-Name ignored me and went to the end of the hall to check around the corner. Chuck took Cat from my shoulder and Isabelle noticed the side of my face. She had this horrified look on her face that only she could do. "Oh my god, Abby, what happened? Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine, really. Just, you know, getting' shot at by a machine trying to kill all of humanity. All in a day's work" I joked.

"Who's your tour guide?" Chuck asked.

"I wish I knew" I said.

"We don't have time to chat!" No-Name called. I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Don't get your panties in a wad, we're coming" I said, motioning for the others to follow.

**We** went through hall after hall. No-Name was in front, Chuck, Cat, and I were in the middle, and Isabelle was in the back. It was like this awkward Congo line. The high pitched screeches and loud booms echoed throughout every hall, and on occasion the building would toss a bit. I had no idea what in the world was going on anywhere but in the hallway we were in at the time. I was still slightly limping on my left leg and No-Name kept his left arm away from people's sight-lines.

We finally came upon the exit. The only problem was that it was guarded by what looked like fifty machines. They had no eyes so you never knew if they could see you…unless, you know, they were trying to kill you. Anyway, we tried backtracking but the roof caved in behind us, blocking anyway but forward. "Now what, Captain Awesome?" I asked No-Name. It was really becoming my go-to nickname, No-Name. "We go the only way we can go. Out the doors" he said, obviously trying not to argue.

"Are you insane? There are, like, fifty machines waiting by the door, and we're just gonna walk out?" I asked.

"They're idiots, so if they see someone they'll all chase after-"

"Who's the someone?" I asked, crossing my arms like I knew the answer.

"Me" he said.

"Now you're really insane."

"No, I'm not. I'm doing my job and protecting you."

"Who told you it was your job?"

"That's irrelevant."

"Why can't you just come with us?" I asked, sounding a little bit more upset than I'd hoped for. He sighed and pulled me into a hug. "Abigail, I have to do this to get you out. And that's the priority for me" he said. I pulled back enough to see his face. "Will I ever see you again?" I asked.

"It's a possibility" he said. I stepped back and crossed my arms. "Fine…go…see if I care" I mumbled, turning and walking to Isabelle by the wall. She eyed me but didn't question my angry expression. No-Name disappeared along with the machines, and we sneaked out. Where we're going, I had no idea.


	5. Chapter 5

**I** can't say I was a 'Happy Camper' the last two days. I was pissed. We hid out for a few hours in the bushes and trees before continuing on toward the city. It takes a long time when you walk. Especially when you're pissed and walking, because you walk slower. We got to the city, only to find out the machines were patrolling the streets. Not to mention all the buildings that were destroyed or on fire.

We stayed on the outskirts of the city, where I sit now, wishing I had the strength to cry. I didn't. But I wanted to. I kept thinking there was something I could've done to make No-Name come with us. But there wasn't. If he's alive, he probably thinks I hate him. Will that stop him from coming back to us? I had no idea. Knowing him, probably not.

He said it was his job to protect me. But who gave him that job? _He's metal, why would he want to protect me?_ I stood and started pacing in an I'm-so-confused fashion. Two days had been way too long for my taste. He was either dead or…I don't know…dead? Either way he was probably dead. I sighed grudgingly and slapped myself. "Why did you just hit yourself?" Isabelle asked. I sighed and narrowed my eyes at her. I resisted the urge to yell at her and continued pacing.

I decided a walk would be better, so I went walking off in a random direction. Most of the area was covered but there were still open spots I had to avoid. I had turned into G.I. Jane over the past two days. I was walking quietly, not speaking unless I had to, and basically taking charge and leading the group. I was no longer the whit-filled troublemaker I was a week ago.

I missed my old life. I sat next to a small stream and listened to the quiet. I was falling apart, but I refused to let anyone see. I closed my eyes and breathed in the fresh air. "Well, I certainly didn't expect to run into you here." My eyes snapped open and saw, across the little stream, No-Name was smiling down at me. I quickly stood and blinked a few times. He didn't disappear so he was obviously real.

Being the girl I am, I ran across the stream and threw my arms around him in a hug. He chuckled and hugged me back. Sure, at times I hated the guy, but I really did miss him. The feeling I had back in my room when he kissed my hand surfaced in the pit of my stomach and I stepped back. "You're not dead" I said.

"No, not yet anyway" he said, sarcastically.

"Don't joke like that. Have you seen the city? It's in ruins! They're crawling everywhere. I haven't seen anyone else since we got out" I said.

"It's not good to be out in the open, even under the cover of trees. Come on, there's a place about a mile from here that's covered" he said, walking past me. Sappy moment gone. Now it was time to be serious. We made it back to the group and everyone acted happy to see he was alive, and all too eagerly followed to this 'place' he found.

**It** was a small cement building that was sunk half into the ground and covered in Ivy. The inside was small. Except, No-Name found a secret staircase further down into the ground. When I didn't follow, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me along. We went down to or three flights of stairs before coming into a large room. It looked to lead into several other rooms as well. "What is this place?" I asked, stepping off the bottom stair.

"In time, it will be your base of operations for the Resistance. Doesn't look like it now, but it will" he said, looking around the room.

"Wait…_in time_? How do you know that?" I asked.

"…I'm from the future. A future where you died in the Shatterdome when the machines attacked. That's why I had to get you out, so you would be alive in the future" he said. Okay, first he's metal, now he's from the future? _What the hell?_ "Uh…okay. Are you sure you're not just from a mental hospital?" I asked. He chuckled and shook his head. "You are nothing like what they said you'd be like" he said.

"Who said I'd be like what?"

"The people that sent me back told you'd be…more…" I put my hands on my hips. "Go on, say it" I urged.

"They said you'd be more mature" he said. I scoffed. "I am too mature" I said.

"You asked" he said, putting his hands up in surrender. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. I turned to look at him and I noticed a gash in his chest that was bleeding. _How did I not notice this?_ "Oh my god, what happened to you?" I asked. He glanced down at the gash and shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal" he said.

"Uh, yeah it is a big deal. Stay here, I'll be right back" I said. I turned and hurried up the staircase. I went to Isabelle who flinched like I was going to hit her. Which, I've never done, so I don't know why she flinched. "Where's our first aid kit? You know, the one we got yesterday" I said. She rummaged through a pack she had and pulled out the little red pouch. "Here" she said, giving it to me.

"Thanks" I said, turning and starting for the stairs. I hurried back down with the red pouch and a metal table in the corner of the room. I pointed to it and said, "Sit." He sighed and did as I told him to. I set the bag next to him on the table and opened it. "It's not a big deal, Abigail" he said.

"It's a big deal when you're bleeding" I said.

"I don't even feel it" he protested.

"Just shut up and take off your shirt so I can bandage it" I said. He sighed and slipped his shirt over his head. I forced my eyes to stay on the red pouch and forced my fingers to find the things I needed. The only thing I couldn't force was the blushing occurring in my cheeks. I inwardly cursed my stupid reflexes and started cleaning the gash on his chest. "You're blushing" he said, with a smirk.

"I'm a girl, what did you expect?" I asked. "For a guy from the future you sure don't know a lot."

"I know girls blush. And I know why, too" he said.

"We both know that's not the reason" I said, finally meeting his eyes.

"Do we?" he asked. I ignored his question and finished bandaging the gash. He was quiet until I was finished. "Am I gonna live?" he asked, jokingly.

"I think so" I said. He looked into my eyes and pushed my hair behind my ear. _No, no, no, no, no. you will not kiss him_. But that's the thing, I didn't. He did the unthinkable: he leaned close and kissed me. Should it have happened? No. Did I like it once it did? Yes. I put my arms around his neck and kissed him back, though I should have let go. _I am such an idiot sometimes_. He pulled me against him and deepened the kiss, the whole time I'm screaming at myself saying '_Back away, don't get any closer_.' I ignore myself way too much. There's a war going on outside and I'm making out with I guy I barely know…boy, am I smart or what?


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay**, so you're probably thinking I'm crazy. And I just might be. But my crazy is what's keeping things together in our group and keeping us alive. Hiding isn't getting us anywhere, so I've been thinking of something we could do to hurt the machines. I know nothing about them except that they kill humans. The fate of the world rests on my shoulders…and I have no idea what to do. Go figure.

I've been scoping out the machines' movement in the city, trying to find a base. It's not as easy as it sounds. Especially when the machines have heat seekers. But there's a place the machines keep bringing humans to on the north side of the city. I've only seen a handful of people not go inside, and those who do, don't come out. I don't know why the machines need people, but for some reason they do.

Today I decided to propose my plan to the group. I explained it with expert ease and made it sound easy. But they still don't like it. "Abby, it's not that your plan sucks, it's that you'd be in danger the whole time" Cat said.

"No, I wouldn't. I'd be in and out before they could notice me" I said.

"Do you even know anything about explosives?" Isabelle asked.

"Let's just say my childhood was…unconventional, okay?" I said. I sighed and crossed my arms. "Look…I'm supposed to lead the Resistance. But us five here in this room, right now…we _are_ the Resistance. Let's start acting like it." They all looked at me like I was crazy, except for No-Name. He seemed almost…proud? I went down the staircase into the underground room and got the C4 we'd found a few days ago. I put it on the metal table and found a leather pack in some of our supplies. I went back to the table with it and stuffed the C4 inside.

In this moment here, I agree I seemed crazy. But something had to be done, and who better to do it than me? I shouldered the pack after stuffing it with some more things I'd need and went back up the stairs. Chuck stood and grabbed my arm. He looked me in the eyes sternly. "I promised your mother I'd make sure you were safe. I'm not letting you go alone, Abby" he said.

"Well, I'm going anyway. Who are you sending with me?" I asked.

"The only one that volunteered" he said. At that we both looked at No-Name, leaning against the wall with a smug look on his face. I rolled my eyes and started for the door. "Let's get this over with" I said.

**We** had very little wiggle room on our way through the city. Everywhere we turned there were more machines. We had to re-chart the route and keep walking several times. Along the way we had little conversation. I was leading most of the way, but after a while I let him take the lead. Since I was behind and he couldn't look me straight in the face, I put everything on the table. Hey, if I was to die in the next hour or so, I wanted to have talked this out first. "So…about the other day…" I started.

"What about it?" he asked, not glancing over his shoulder once.

"Well…for starters, you revealed you were from the future. What's it like? Are people still hunted by machines?" I asked, pulling my pack further onto my shoulder.

"In the future there's a disease far worse than any machine. We call it the Dust. Once infected, it eats away your bones until you have none. I was infected with it, hence the metal where my bones should be. A lot of people were infected with it. The machines took it as an opportunity to kill us off faster" he said.

"Okay. Future: not pretty. Got it" I said, quietly. I was quiet for about a mile and then I spoke up again. "Another thing about the other day, um, we sort of kissed. I don't know if you remember that, but I do" I said.

"Abigail-"

"_Abby_. For god's sake, call me Abby. Everybody does" I said.

"Well, I can't. It's a form of attachment that I can't afford" he said.

"What? So you can kiss me, but not call me by my nickname? What the hell?" I asked.

"I'm in enough trouble as it is. I shouldn't have kissed you; it was a mistake. I can't be close to you like that" he said. I tried to keep my sadness from the tone I used. "Why?" I asked. He stopped, making me stop, and he turned to me. "I did the one thing I was told never to do" He said.

"And what was that?" I asked, trying not to look in his eyes.

"I fell in love with you" he said, firmly. He turned and kept walking. I tried to reclaim the breath he stole from my lungs and forced myself to keep walking. So, he did care about me. But he was told not to…_well, if you're gonna break a rule, do it right_. I replaced my feelings with a stone face and filled myself with the rage I felt toward the machines. I was there to complete a mission. I had to do it right or not at all.

**We** arrive at a slight cliff that dropped just before the large building, the one that held the machines. We perched ourselves on the edge, on our stomachs, and looked over the building with binoculars. He handed me the binoculars and took a look at the side exit. It had a key lock. _It was pickable_. I gave the binoculars back to No-Name and slowly slid sideways and down the little cliff. I hurried to the side of the building and slinked to the door.

No-Name had a gun so he could make sure no machine touched me while I picked the lock. Why machines used keys, I had no idea. I glanced around and then finished picking the lock. The door jimmied open and I nodded up to No-Name. I stood and he was at my back, covering me as I made my way inside. Inside, there were conveyer belts where automated machines were assembling new machines. It was dark inside. I could just barely see the whole room. There was a door on the far wall, but we'd scoped it out. _There wasn't another room_.

I shook my head and continued to our planned target. The power box was uranium just like the hearts of the Jaegers. C4 would make this empty half of the city rubble. It was already empty and clear—no humans were left here. I stood in front of the power box and opened the door. I pulled the C4 from my pack and secured it to the inside of the power box. I set the timer for two minutes and synced up the wireless remote. "All set" I said, shutting the power box door.

We left the building and haled ass back the way we came. I heard a noise and stopped. It sounded like a noise a child makes when they're afraid. Don't ask me how I know what that sounds like. I had stopped a sidestep away from a small wooden house of some sort. It was really small, almost like an outbuilding. I turned toward it and walked to the door. I slowly pulled it open and in the dark I saw a small figure.

_Ah, crap_. I glanced backward before stepping inside. The figure stepped back at my forward movement and I put my hands up. "It's okay. I promise. I'm not metal, I'm human. I could cut myself if you want proof" I said. The figure shook it's head and I caught a glimpse of it's face. A child. Maybe ten or eleven at the most. It was a girl with tattered clothes and short blonde hair. "My name is Abigail Becket. What's yours?" I asked.

"L-Lana" she said.

"Hi, Lana. This place is going to blow up, so why don't you come with me back to my camp? There are other people just like you and me waiting for me. We have food and I'm sure we can do something about your clothes" I said. She slowly stepped from the shadows and walked to me. I took her hand and then led her outside. No-Name didn't say anything. He just led the way back toward camp. We got far enough away and I pressed the button on my wireless remote.


	7. Chapter 7

**Lana** fit in nicely with our group. After probing for information, I found out she was ten. Her family was killed by the machines the day after the first attack. She just barely got away. She stuck to me like glue, the kind of glue you can't ever scrape off. She makes me wonder if there are other people hiding like she was, waiting for the war to be over.

I was finally able to get Lana to stay with Cat. I went down the stairs into the underground room where Chuck and No-Name were talking at the center table. We'd scavenged a few things and made the place look like we lived here. The center table is used for mapping out where the machines are at different times. Nobody wanted to do it, so I did.

Chuck and No-Name were on opposite sides of the table so I stood by Chuck. I didn't want to look like I was forgetting what happened between us. I wanted to forget, but I couldn't. And it showed, too. "So, what exactly did yesterday's activity do?" Chuck asked.

"It took out the manufacturing building, and scorched the machines in the area," I said, pointing to different places on the map. "It's a start." I crossed my arms and glanced at both guys. Chuck sighed and shook his head. "I'm not saying it didn't do anything, it just wasn't a good idea. It told them there are still people here, and they're gonna send patrols to scan the area" he said.

"They aren't that smart" No-Name.

"Oh yeah? And how smart are they?" Chuck challenged.

"They don't have A.I.s like the Jaegers do. They're mindless robots that are controlled from a different location" No-Name replied.

"This isn't about the machines, is it?" I asked, glancing at both of them. Chuck glared at No-Name before walking up the stairs. _What was that?_ I turned to the map and leaned my palms on the table. I acted like I was looking at the map, but I wasn't. "It looks like we need more recon in the East District. The patrols there aren't timed yet, and it'd be good to see if there are any other people out that direction" I said. Silence. I made the mistake of looking up. He was watching me like he wanted to say something, but he chose not to. "What? What's wrong now? I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing," I said, angrily. "Unlike someone I now that can do nothing but lead girls on."

"Don't start" he said.

"Start what? The conversation where we act like human beings?" I asked.

"I was sent back to protect you, not to be with you romantically."

"What about what I want? Does that even matter? I don't want to lead the Resistance and feel every human death like their blood is on my hands! But apparently I'm the only one, some chosen savior for the human race. The only thing that I know I want is you. I could save the whole damn world and that wouldn't be good enough, would it? Would it?!" I asked.

"You think I _don't _want you? Believe me, I do. But like I said, that's not a part of the job" he said.

"Why can't you do both?" I asked, feeling the lump in my throat like I was about to cry. He sighed and looked at the wall. "Why?" I urged, raising my voice.

"It's a conflict of interest" he said.

"I don't even know your name. Is that a conflict, too? Or are you just the ass I assumed you were in the beginning?" I asked. He sighed and then was quiet for a minute. "My name is Rhys" he said.

"Please tell me that's your first name" I said.

"It's my first name" he replied. I sighed in relief. _Thank god_. I stayed quiet for a few minutes, watching him trying not to make eye contact with me. It was really getting annoying. "Give me one exceptionally good reason why we can't be together" I said.

"…I was given this job with one rule: do not fall in love. I can't break it" he said.

"What can they do to you? They're in the future!" I said, throwing my hands up in exasperation.

"I'm a soldier, I do as told and I never ask questions."

"You don't have to ask questions, and that rule is a stupid rule" I said. Just then Lana came down the stairs. "Cat and Isabelle are arguing again" she said, with her arms crossed. I sighed and dropped my head. I looked at her and said, "Tell them I said if they don't stop arguing they can find their own camp, okay?" she nodded and walked back up the stairs. I turned back to Rhys. "Like I said, it's a stupid rule. Haven't you heard the saying 'rules are meant to be broken'?" I asked.

"Not in my time."

"Well, you're in my time now. Stop thinking like a soldier and start thinking like a human" I said. I pushed off the table and went up the stairs.

**The next day**, I started getting supplies into my pack for the recon mission. I packed extra ammo for my 9mm and food and water in case we ran into more people and/or machines. I zipped up the pack and picked up my gun. I checked the clip and shoved it back in when I saw it was full. Isabelle came down the stairs and started packing her back pack. "It's gonna be pretty bad out there, you sure you wanna come?" I asked, teasingly.

"Please, nothing scares me anymore" she said, with mock confidence. I chuckled, a thing I didn't know I was still capable of doing. After Isabelle finished packing, we went topside and met the you-can't-go wagon. Isabel convinced everyone it was a good idea, which shocked me. We headed for the door and something caught my arm, stopping me. I sighed and turned, not surprised when I saw Rhys holding my arm. _I was going to speak_. I swear I was. But I was cut off by Rhys _kissing_ me. It was the typical i-screwed-up kiss. If there is one thing he's good at, it's giving mixed signals.

It didn't stop me from turning right around and walking out the door. Isabelle gave me a look as we started walking toward the city. I ignored it and picked up my pace. As we got closer to the city I pulled my gun from under my shirt and trained my senses on key-noises. Isabelle fell into step behind me as we entered the city on the South-East side. We slinked along a building and I peered around the corner. Two machines. _Crap_. It looked like they were searching a house. I heard a scream and then a loud _screech-boom!_

I cringed and pulled back from the corner. I took a deep breath and timed it. I sprinted across the intersection to the other side, unseen. I watched the machines and signaled Isabelle when it was right. Once we were both on one side, we turned and kept walking in shadow toward the city-center. We found an empty building and made our way to the roof. We perched ourselves on the East side and timed the runs.

**1…2…3, Machines march. 1…2…3, Machines march. **

My ear perked up at a creaking sound. I motioned for Isabelle to keep watching and I crept back to the inside. I was on the second level of the building. I held my gun up as I search the level. I was searching the master bedroom when I heard the creaking noise again, but it sounded like it was coming from the closet. I took a breath and opened the closet door. In the closet were four teenage boys, all looked to be different ages, and all with machine guns. All the guns were trained on me.

"Whoa, whoa!" I whisper yelled. "You shoot me and all of the machines will know we're here! I'm human, I can cut myself if you need proof." The three younger-looking ones looked to the one who was probably the oldest. "What's your name?" the oldest asked.

"Abigail Becket, Leader of the Hong Kong Resistance. What's yours?" I asked. They all had wide eyes. "There's a Resistance?" one of them asked, his accent thick. I nodded. "Yep, and I'm in charge. Want in? If you can stop it with the trigger-happy stuff you can all come back to camp" I said.

"Well…it beats staying out here" the older one said. I nodded and motioned for them to follow as I headed back to the roof. They all cautiously trailed behind me up to the roof. I made a get-low gesture and got low to the roof myself. I crawled up beside Isabelle. "Four kids in the closet" I whispered.

"Four?" she whispered back.

"All are coming back with us" I whispered.

"Okay, but it's your funeral if one of 'em decides to shoot up a machine" she whispered.

We finished the timing and started back to the camp. Along the way, we missed three machines and one march. And I gathered names from the boys. The youngest was Kai, then Zane, then the adopted American brother John, then the oldest Lee.  
Rhys was standing outside the camp when we got back. He didn't act surprised to see more people with us. Isabelle and the brothers went inside, while I stayed outside with Rhys. It was so nice finally having a name to call him. Instead of that stupid No-Name crap. I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "Which is it, in or out?" I asked. He snaked his arms around my waist and kissed me. "In" he said.

"What about being a soldier?" I asked.

"I decided it doesn't have as many benefits" he said, with a lopsided grin. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him. _I am so confused…_


	8. Chapter 8

**I **don't know what scared me the most about the machines. They seem like a gust of wind would knock them over, but when you're staring one in the face and it's about to shoot you you see them just a bit differently. I can't remember how I got in this position, or why the machine didn't shoot me, but there I was. In a stare-down with a robot. _And Rhys said they have no brains_. For some reason, it just stared at me. It wasn't moving to shoot me, like I was about to do, no, it just stood there looking creepy.

**It** cocked it's circular head to the side, considering me. I probably would've peed my pants if someone wasn't with me. _Oh yeah, forgot that detail_. Lee was at my side even though I had told him to run the other way. I had confidence knowing he wouldn't make a move without my say-so. But I still didn't like him being in the position I was in. "So…are you going to kill me? 'Cause if not I'd like to get on with my life" I said.

"Confirmation: Abigail Becket" a computeristic voice came from the machine. _Ah, crap_. Suddenly little black tiles started crawling up the machine's legs and coated it's whole body until it was completely black. A white eagle was on it's chest, the only exception to the black. It stayed the same size but now looked more like a Jaeger then one of the machines. I blinked a few times in shock and instantly dropped my gun to my side. "What the hell are _you_ doing here?" I asked it.

"I was sent to make sure you were alive" it said, it's voice more male.

"Well, I'm alive. I could have shot you! I thought you were smart, Knight" I said.

"I am smart. But I mustn't travel in my true form, otherwise I would have been seen and shot down" it said. Lee was completely clueless but he wore it well. "He's one of ours" I said to him. He nodded and lowered his machine gun. I gave the okay to the rest of the group and motioned for Knight to follow me inside the camp. I slid my gun into my belt at my lower back as I walked down the stairs, Knight trailing behind me step-by-step. I stood by the table and he stopped a foot away from me. "Who sent you?" I asked, bluntly.

"They call her Chimera" he replied.

"Where did she send you from?" I asked.

"North Hong Kong. There is a small group gathered there. Chimera is the one in charge there" he said.

"Does Chimera have an actually name?" I asked.

"Yes…Mako Mori." I was speechless. She was supposed to be dead…how was she alive and leading a group of Resistance fighters? I didn't believe it. "Are you sure it's really her?" I asked.

"One-hundred percent certain" he said.

"So what does she want? How does she even know I exist?" I asked.

"All of North-East Hong Kong saw your name spray painted-"

"What? I never…" I stopped talking an instantly felt angry. I had sent Zane and John to the North-East district a few days ago. I sighed in frustration and went to the bottom of the stairs. "Zane, John get your asses down here!" I shouted up the stairs. I went back to the table and waited for them to come down the stairs. I turned around when they finally both showed up. "What all did you spray paint on your run, boys?" I asked. They nervously glanced at each other, then Zane spoke up. "Just a wall…" he said.

"And what did you spray paint onto that wall?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"_Abigail Becket: Leader of the Resistance_, and _Machines Suck_" John said, without hesitation. I sighed and crossed my arms. "And why did we write those things on the wall?" I asked, sounding more angry than I'd hoped for.

"…um…" Zane said, glancing around the room.

"Because we were beings idiots. We are both sorry if it has put the group in a bad position" John said, humbly.

"Next time I send you somewhere on Scavenge, don't write things on walls or cars or dumpsters or anything you can think of, okay?" I said, looking at both of them. They both nodded and I gestured for them to leave. They both hurried up the staircase and I sighed.

You think, '_oh yeah, telling people what to do will be easy_' until you actually have to do it. Then you're thinking, '_Why the hell did I agree to this?_'. I turned around and leaned on my palms, looking over the map on the table. "Where is the exact location of Chimera's group?" I asked. Knight (A.k.a. Dark Knight) walked around the table and pointed to a spot in the North District. "Approximately a day's journey from your camp" he said.

"And they want…?" I trailed.

"They request your presence" he said.

"When?" I asked.

"As soon as possible" he said. I thought about it a minute. If there's another group, just like mine, then that means there could be other stragglers that haven't found a group yet. _I knew it_. And they want me there because according to spray paint I'm leading the Resistance. A machine could have put that there as bait…that's another thing I'll have to talk to this _Chimera_ about. "I assume you'll journey back with us?" I asked.

"Yes, I will" he said. I nodded and went upstairs. Chuck, Isabelle, and Cat were all still sleeping—it was only just sunrise—so only Lana, the four brothers, and Rhys were upstairs. They all stood at attention, except Lana who ran over to me and hugged me. I hugged her tiny form and pulled away. "Lana, I have to go on a trip," I said, kneeling down to her level. "But I promise I'll be back, okay?" she sighed and nodded. I kissed her forehead and stood, turning to the others in the room. "There's a group up North that, thanks to the Zen brothers, have requested my presence. While I'm gone: John and Zane will still be on Scavenge , Kai and Lee will work on Surveillance, and I'm leaving Cat in charge. Any questions?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah, when will you be coming back?" Kai asked.

"I don't know, but I'll try to get back as soon as I can" I replied.

"Who are you taking with you?" Lee asked.

"Dark Knight and Rhys. Can I trust you all to do as your told while I'm gone?" I asked. They all nodded and did the weirdest thing. They performed the Hunger Games Salute, putting three fingers to their lips then raising them in the sky. I did a quick salute and headed down stairs. Rhys and I packed our back packs, and I made sure my 9mm was loaded completely before even thinking of leaving.

**The** three of us—me, Dark Knight, and Rhys—started North toward the second group. It would take an extra day or two to walk around on either the West or East sides, and going through the city was too dangerous. We decided on just going West. It was the safest of the three possible directions. We walked the rest of the day until nightfall, and then we camped under the cover of trees.

Dark Knight volunteered for patrol, since he never sleeps. I sat with my legs stretched out in front of me and I leaned back on the base of a tree. I had my 9mm in hand and resting on my lap, ready to kill anything that walked past me. Rhys was laid on the grass beside me, totally carefree. I envied his ability to be so calm. I cocked my gun and settled into my spot, eyes scanning the area.

Even though we had a high-tech machine watching out for us, I still needed to see what was going on around me. _okay, call me paranoid, but in my situation we both know you'd do the same_. I heard Rhys chuckle and glared at him. "What? Can you really blame me for wanting to make sure the job was done right?" I asked. He shrugged against the grass. "No, but it's pretty funny" he said.

"What's funny about it?" I asked.

"How you look" he said. He sat up and took my 9mm. I reached for it and he pulled it farther out of my reach. I sighed, frustrated, and narrowed my eyes at him. "Give it back" I said.

"You need to sleep, not be watching for machines. That's what we have Dark Knight for" he said.

"Give. It. Back" I said, sternly.

"And what if I don't?" he asked, with a smirk.

"Then I'll have to hurt you" I said.

"Promise?" he asked, playfully. I rolled my eyes and reached for my gun again. he pulled it back behind his shoulder so I couldn't possibly reach it. "Come on Rhys, just give it back" I whined.

"No, you need to sleep" he said.

"If I promise to sleep will you give it back?" I asked.

"No" he said. I sighed and pushed him, to which he chuckled. I leaned back against the tree and crossed my arms and said, "Just because you take my gun, that doesn't mean I actually have to sleep."


	9. Chapter 9

**The **North group's camp was bigger than I expected. It was a collection of little run-down shacks and buildings that stood apart from the rest of the city. The camp is guarded by a few people with guns here and there, and they aren't obvious enough to attract machines' attention. Dark Knight led the way to the edge of the camp's border where we were greeted by two of the guards. They didn't give us a second glance after letting us in. _Idiots_.

It was dark by the time we'd arrived so most people were inside their shelters, but there were a few people wondering around doing things. They didn't know who I was yet so they didn't bother with staring, which I was grateful for—staring would just make things awkward. Knight led us to a wooden shack in the center of their camp. The door was just a tattered piece of fabric hanging in the doorway.

Once inside, I saw there were three people that looked familiar. I was shocked to see these three people here and not closer to the Shatterdome. It was my uncle Yancy, the supposed-to-be-retired Stacker Pentecost—only recognized him from old photos my parents had—and the most obvious person in the room, Mako Mori. Or as these people know her, Chimera.

_A Chimera is a mythical beast made of pieces from other beasts._

I learned that in eleventh grade mythology. My teacher was a bit of a nut job, but he would always answer my questions with a passion for the history I wished I had. Thinking about that made me depressed, so I focused on what was in front of me, not behind me. I immediately hugged my uncle Yancy. "Hey kiddo," he said, as we stepped away. "I wished the reunion was under different circumstances."

"Me too" I said, with a sad smile, of which he returned. I turned to the other two familiar faces in the room. I'd never met either of them but I knew who they were from the stories my dad told me. Mom never really liked talking about it, so I had to get my questions answered by my dad. Mako looked me over and exchanged a look with Stacker. The typical this-is-it? Look. "Yeah, I know, I'm not much, but…." I shrugged. "I'm not much." Stacker stepped forward and offered his hand for me to shake. I shook his hand and we exchanged names. "You have certainly grown" he said.

"In more ways than one" I said, semi-sarcastically.

"You are the leader of the Resistance, correct?" Mako asked, still with a uncertain look. I nodded. "Yes" I said.

"How many are with your group?" she asked.

"Nine, which is a lot less than what you have here" I said.

"We have thirty-four" Yancy said, from beside me.

"Yep…a lot less" I said, quietly.

"Who put you in charge?" Mako asked, crossing her arms.

"I'm not technically 'in charge' of everyone, just my group. But in the near future I am leader of the entire Resistance, according to a file my mother had, and she got it from C.H.E.S.S.—you know, the guys behind this whole thing. I believe the retired Marshall here knows which file I'm talking about" I said, glancing at Stacker. He nodded but Mako still seemed like she wasn't convinced.

"I'm not here to step on any toes, okay? I am here because you sent this machine to come get me," I said, pointing at Dark Knight by the door. "If you don't think I can lead the Resistance, that's fine. I don't need your blessing because I'm not doing this for the glory of it, I'm doing this to save the human race. I may look like a kid to you…but there's a girl back at my camp that doesn't see as kid. She sees me as the person that rescued her after her family was murdered by machines. And I want to do that for all the people who have lost family or friends. My mother thought she stopped this…well, she didn't, so it's my job to _permanently_ finish it. If you don't want my help, then have a nice day."

With that, I turned and left the shack. I needed fresh air, and I certainly wasn't going to get it in there. I think the word had gotten around, because those who were outside were eyeing me closely. I don't know why but I've always been able to take looks of disappointment better than looks of hope. I've been so used to people being disappointed in me and not having any expectations for me, that I feel like I can't handle it when they do have expectations.

I went to the far side of the camp and sat on the side of a hill. The air was cold and my breath was fogging because of it. I took a deep breath and tried to focus on something other than the stares being sent my way. I heard a sound and then a small blue ball rolled toward me and bumped into my ankle. A girl that looked maybe eleven or twelve walked over and stopped a few feet from me. I picked up the ball and walked over to her. I held it out to her and she took it. "Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Abigail. What's yours?" I asked.

"Carol" she said.

"Do you have any family here, Carol?" I asked.

"Just my brother. He's fourteen. We live over there," she said, pointing off behind her. she looked me up and down. "Where do you live?"

"About two days south of here. That way" I said, pointing south.

"Are you here to help kill the machines?" she asked. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and I glanced up. Mako was standing a yard away watching. I looked back to Carol and knelt down to her level. "Yes, I am. And i promise you, I will do my very best to help anyway I can" I said. She smiled brightly and wrapped her tiny arms around my neck, squeezing me tightly. I hesitantly hugged her back. "Carol! Come on!" she pulled away and I saw someone I assumed was her brother. She looked back to me and smiled before running off to her brother.

I stood and crossed my arms as Mako walked over to me. She still had that skeptical look in her eyes, but she seemed more relaxed. " You bring hope to these people that I could not. I may have misjudged you" she said. I wanted to say, '_Oh, you think?_' in an extremely sarcastic tone. But I didn't. I stayed calm. "Well, I am only nineteen, so I can see how you wouldn't be so outgoing about the situation" I said.

"I would like to see what you have to offer. We're planning an attack on one of the central buildings used by the machines, and I need a more tactical approach than the one we have planned. Will you help?" she asked.

"Does a green light mean 'go'?" I asked, sarcastically. I saw a hint of a smile on her face and she motioned for me to follow her as she headed back to the main shack. We walked inside and she led me to a table in the far corner that had schematics of a building and a map of Hong Kong that was extremely detailed. She rolled out the map of Hong Kong and started explaining her plan and how she thought it would go wrong. She switched from the map to the schematic and back several times as she explained.

After she was done explaining, she was quiet for a minute before turning to me. "What would you do?" she asked. I gave her a give-me-a-minute gesture and looked over the routes marked on the map. "Mm…the machines patrol in a Delta four pattern in the Central District. You have it marked down as Beta six. When did you last recon that area?" I asked.

"Last week" she said.

"Recon the Districts more often. They change things up now and then and if you don't know it you'll end up dead…in my experience anyway" I said, saying the last part more quietly so only the both of us heard. I looked over the schematic of the building and found it's location on the map. It was ten miles south of here, halfway to my camp, and flat out in the middle of Hong Kong. It wasn't the most conventional place for an assault on the machines. "I'd start out trekking South-West three miles until you're in the West District—which will take you about thirty minutes, getting you there just after the patrol. The machines patrol in Alpha two patterns so you have twenty minutes until the next one. In that twenty minutes, weave through these four buildings until you get to the building. It takes two people to set up this kind of wiring in time, so I'd suggest taking two teams of two—in case something were to happen to team one you've got a back-up plan."

I explained the whole endeavor the best I could. I also explained the setup of the wiring for the bomb they planned to use. After I was done, I stood back and was quiet. I was worried by the immense quiet in the shack. "How long can you stay with us?" Mako asked.

"I probably shouldn't stay longer than five days" I said.

"Would you be able to head-up this operation?" she asked.

"Me? Oh…definitely" I said.

"Excellent. We'll start indefinite plans tomorrow morning. For now, I'll show where you can sleep" she said. She motioned for me to follow her as she left the shack. Mako led Rhys and I to one of the buildings in the camp and up to a room on the second floor. Inside were two cos on opposite sides of the room. "It's not much, but it's all we have" Mako said, as we walked in the room.

"It's totally fine, we've actually had less at our camp. Thank you, Mako" I said. She smiled lightly at me then left the room closing the door behind her.

**That night**, I dreamt of when I was four. We'd only been home for a year. Mom was always doing things and dad was usually at work, so I would play in my room alone. I didn't have friends my age I could play with or siblings. I would mope around my room being completely bored—and that's unusual for a four year old. I was never bored too long, because dad would get home and he would tell me stories.

He'd put them into terms I would understand and sometimes he'd tell me them for hours. I never got bored with my dad. I always saw him as my knight in shining armor that slayed dragons during the day and then came to the castle at night and call me his princess. I fell asleep in his arms on more than one occasion.

I lay awake thinking maybe, after all of this was finally done, I could go home. And maybe dad would still call me his princess. That is, if I don't die in the next couple of days…that could throw a wrench in the plan.


	10. AN

**Okay, so I was thinking, and I had this idea. If you guys vote for Yes on the poll I posted on my page I will do a prequel to Drops of Jupiter detailing what happened after Written in Stars was over. So please go vote! I need to know!**

**Please & Thanks! **


	11. Chapter 10

**I** was still awake when the sun shone through the window. I quietly sat up and swung my legs off the cot. My mind was still on my family and therefor I wasn't really seeing as I looked around the room. I tried shaking my childhood memories from my head but I couldn't. I had thought about every moment in my life I could remember last night, and now I was up to when I was ten. I hated that year. I did have siblings once…a little brother. His name was Mathew.

He was diagnosed with cancer when he was three. I was only nine at the time and I didn't understand why it was so serious. He would get better, just like when I had gotten the flue that year. But he didn't get better. He passed away the day after his fourth birthday. It was hard on everyone. Even though I still didn't fully understand it, I cried myself to sleep for weeks after his death.

Mom shut down after that. I never saw her smile again—not the smile I loved seeing. She didn't laugh at my jokes, or sing songs with me in the car on the way to school, or take me to the park to play with our dog. Nothing. I would cry out to dad asking why she kept shutting me out and he wouldn't ever be able to answer my question, because he didn't know either.

I found myself spending more time alone, isolating myself from everyone but my dad. I only enlisted in the first place to show her some of us could move on, and we didn't reject our family members for years. I wrote but mom would never reply, it was always dad, so I was surprised when mom actually signed the letter I got the day of the attack.

**I** stood and slipped my jacket over my shoulders as I left the room. I was an idiot to think about Mathew. Now that's all that's running through my head. I nearly slipped on the last stair but got myself. I took a deep breath and stepped off the stairs. I put my hair up in a loose pony tail as I left the building. A lot more people than yesterday were outside. Not many stared as I made my way to the center shack.

I walked inside the shack and saw Mako was there, looking over the maps in the corner. "Am I late?" I asked. She turned and smiled at me. "No, not late. A little early actually" she said.

"Oh…I could leave and come back if I'm too early" I said.

"No, no. it's fine. That just means we have more time to discuss the plan" she said. I nodded and joined her in front of the maps. "Who are your best men?" I asked. She motioned for me to follow her and I did. She led me out of the shack and across the camp to a group of maybe…four people? I didn't really count. Mako said something in Japanese and they all stood. I didn't know what she said because I didn't study Japanese in the Academy. I had only gone for a few weeks but while I was there I didn't study it.

There were two woman and three men. All looked to be in their twenties or thirties. "This is Rachel, Maria, Brutus, Romero, and Tai-Lee. They are our best" Mako said, pointing out the people as she said their names.

"Does anyone know anything about explosives?" I asked the group. The man pointed out to be Brutus nodded. "Do you know anything about the Battery-Bomb?" I asked. He nodded once again. "Great, he'll do. Anyone have any training in technology?" Romero said, "I went to MIT, if that counts."

"Yes, it counts. I need Brutus and Romero to start working on the wireless remotes," the two nodded and walked off behind me. "Do you guys have any defense training?"

"I'm a black belt" Tai-Lee stated.

"Maria and I have knowledge of different fighting styles" Rachel said.

"Good, okay, I need one of you to teach me" I said.

"I'll do it" Rachel said.

"Great. Mako, can you debrief Tai-Lee and Maria on the plan?" I asked. Mako nodded and walked back to the shack. Maria and Tai-Lee followed shortly after leaving me and Rachel.

**Rachel **and I trained for a few hours. It felt good to get my muscles moving and get my mind off of my childhood. Rachel said I was, and I quote, 'surprisingly good' at what she was teaching me. It was some mix of martial arts I didn't know. But apparently I was good at it. I'd have to disagree though—I thought I sucked. I finally was able to take her out after hours of hitting the floor. Her back hit the floor and I did as she told me, positioning my foot to crush her trachea if necessary and keeping my fists up and ready.

I stepped back and offered her a hand up. She smiled and took it then pulled me over her, slamming my back on the dirt. She stood and I kicked her legs out from underneath her. She hit the ground and I immediately pinned her. "3-6" I said.

"I'm still winning" she said. I sighed and pushed off of her. I rubbed my left shoulder and winced, remembering how hard it hit the ground. We finished the training so I put my jacket back on and went to the shack. Mako had just finished the debriefing. Maria, Tai-Lee, Brutus, and Romero were all there, along with Rhys. I went to the front and stood next to Mako, facing the group. Rachel walked in just as I started to speak. "We leave just after nightfall" I announced.

"Why at night?" Brutus asked.

"The machines have slower movement at night because supposedly no one is out at night," I said. "Are we all clear on this mission?" everyone nodded in answer. I nodded and sighed. "Good. We'll leave in a few hours then" I said. Everyone except Mako, Rhys, and I left. There was a moment of silence, we all glanced at each other—the kind of glance that says '_What if this goes wrong?_'. No one said anything, though. We just all split our separate ways and began preparing.

**Night** came quickly. It was dark, the stars were out, and there was that familiar chill in the air fogging our breath. _It's time to move_. We had a simple three team plan. We'd come from each direction—right, left, straight—and only one team would go in at first. Brutus and Tai-Lee were on left, Maria and Rachel were on right, and Romero and I were on straight. Three teams of two. What could go wrong?

**We** headed out in our separate directions, each with scavenged walky-talky's. Romero and I moved in shadow and got to the half-way point just before the end of the march. The machines passed by us and we waited three minutes before continuing toward the building. It was a sky-scraper so it wasn't the most obvious building, but we had a map so we didn't go into the wrong one. We were at the waiting point—a small patch of trees in the business park next to the building. We waited for what seemed like countless minutes until the walky-talky finally came alive. "_Team one in position_" was whispered over the radio. "_Team two in position_" came next. The machines finished a patrol through half the business park and then it was clear.

We made our way to the building and slipped inside. There wasn't much security, which was bad sign number one. _Yeah, I keep track of bad signs in my head, so what?_ We started up the far stairwell toward the next level. The goal was level 56. It was a _very tall_ building. But we made it up and stopped at the door to the level. I slowly opened the door and peered inside. The walls were all windows so the only light was from a street light or the moon. More likely the moon, because we were 56 stories up.

The building was mostly empty on ground levels, but underneath was the factory. I crept across the empty floor to the first visible support structure. I knelt down and started placing the first wiring set up near the base. We were to plant six of them on various structures to cause—when detonated—a massive building to crumple like paper. There was a loud, thunderous _thud_ and the building shook slightly. I glanced around the room and found Romero at his structure, also glancing at me.

We quickly turned back to our structures and finished, then moved the next, and so on. Throughout the process there were a lot of the _thud_s and shaking of the building. I had no idea what it was, but I knew I wasn't going to like it. Then, out of the corner of my eye, out the east window/wall, I saw the cause of the thuds and shaking. Romero must have seen it too because he said, "Oh my god. Is that what I think it is?" I shook my head and went back to setting up the bomb wires_. It couldn't be…it had to be something else…_

But I quickly realized it was what I thought it was. It was a Kaiju with the silver C.H.E.S.S. controller on it's neck. _Why the hell were using Kaiju again?_ I had no idea. And I didn't care at that moment because I noticed the Kaiju was romping toward our building. _Ah, crap_. "Get out!" I shouted as I stood.

"How? It'll get here by the time we hit the stairs!" Romero shouted, over the loud thuds and shaking. I looked around for a possible escape and-bingo! Found it. "There's another building over there! We can jump out!" I said.

"Are you crazy? We'll break both our legs!" he said, looking at me like I was insane.

"It's worth a shot, right?" I asked, shrugging. He rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath I couldn't catch. We back up as far as possible, constantly glancing behind us at the Kaiju getting closer, and ran for the other window. The sound of shattering glass was ear piercing. And what was more unbearable than the ringing in my ears, was the throbbing pain in my left leg. My head felt like it was full of air and I couldn't see straight. I was seeing doubles. Romero was across the roof from me, standing seemingly okay.

He was saying things that were drowned out by the ringing in my ears and my head ache. He grabbed my arm and pulled me up to my feet, still muttering things. My skin was stinging like crazy and I still couldn't see things normally. I turned and looked behind the building, seeing the Kaiju still getting closer, almost to the building. I turned and reluctantly started limping toward the edge of the building. There was a ladder leading down to the connected roof. "Come on" I said, starting to climb down the ladder. I slid down most of it and kept walking to the next edge, Romero behind me muttering things of annoyance. There was a fire escape down the side of the building, and I started climbing down.

The thuds turned into big _boom_s and _crash_es. The Kaiju had most likely run into the building. I quickly got down to street level, and then noticed I had gotten down just after a march. I had lost the radio so I had no idea where anyone was. And the map was toast. Then I heard the metallic clicking of machines walking and sighed ruefully. _Damn it_. I turned and saw one of the machines on the sidewalk a few feet from me. he lifted his hand and it turned into some weird gun looking thing, aimed at me. I was about to run, I swear. But I was too late. A searing pain ripped through my right shoulder and then something pulled me into the alley way behind me.

It was Romero. I leaned back against the wall of the building beside us and moved my scorched jacket from my right shoulder. I was breathing heavily from not only the loss of blood but because of exertion. _I was never a runner_. I didn't say anything when I saw what my shoulder looked like. It turned out that they weren't actually guns. Because guns don't leave third degree burns where they shot you. in about a ten inch radius around the hole that was gushing blood, was a red and blistering burn. Romero examined it carefully, as if he'd seen It before. "This is bad," he stated.

"Gee, you think?" I asked, sarcastically.

"No I mean, this is _bad_. They don't usually burn this bad. They must have better weapons on the machines now" he said.

"Yeah, good for the machines!" I said, in a mock cheer. He dug into his pocket and pulled out some kind of baggie with white power in it. He opened it and took out some of the powder. He put it on the burn covering most of my shoulder and it felt like I was being burned again. I cried out in pain. "What the hell?!" I asked.

"It's a medicine that will heal the burn on the way back. it'll still scar pretty bad, but at least you won't die" he said, stuffing the baggie back in his pocket. I ripped a thin line from my shirt hem and carefully stuffed it into the hole in my shoulder. It'll stop the bleed until I can actually bandage it. But it still hurt like hell. I slid my jacket back on my shoulder and zipped it up. And that's when I heard more buildings being crushed.


	12. Chapter 11

**Romero** and I met up with team two—Maria and Rachel—then used their radio to find out what was going on. Nobody knew. The only thing anyone knew was that there was at least three Kaiju now in the city having a party destroying buildings. The other team has taken out at least a dozen machines. The more I heard the info the more I figured out what was going on. C.H.E.S.S. was using the Kaiju to wipe out the rest of the humans in Hong Kong, but they didn't think we'd be here.

We finished chatting about the Kaiju and Mako said they were sending re-enforcements. I had no idea who exactly she'd send but I went with it. I gave Maria the radio back and checked my shoulder. It looked redder than before. It was probably infected but I had nothing to treat it with. "That looks bad" Rachel said, reloading her 22.

"Yeah, well, nothing I can do about it" I said, pulling my jacket back over the wound. The bleeding had stopped and the burn had crusted over. That was the only good thing. I stood and pulled my 9mm out from my belt. It was hard to use my right arm because of my shoulder but I made do with it. I checked the clip for the millionth time, then shoved it in and cocked it back. Orders were to wait for the re-enforcements Mako was sending. But the machines were patrolling in Alpha one—really fast. There were only a few minutes in between patrols. We all had to be armed in case one happened to find us.

**A** few minutes passed, and a still human sized Dark Knight walked around the back corner of the alley with Rhys and a few people I didn't know. One of the people I didn't know came to me with a medical kit. I learned her name was Calera-Mari. She was named after her mother who was from Albania, who was one of the Albanian pilots for Gold Star. She bandaged my shoulder and then hurried to the rest of the group, huddled together discussing a plan. I stood and Knight walked over to me. "I am in need of human assistance for this mission" he said.

"You need a pilot, don't you?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. He had been 'upgraded' so he was just like the newer advanced Jaegers. I didn't understand why he needed a human to co-pilot him when he had the ability to do it himself. "I would like you to accompany me."

"Me? Why me? I've never even drifted before" I protested.

"Because you have the heart of a warrior. And if you are anything like your mother, we should be compatible. Will you join me?" he asked.

"…yes, I'll go with you" I said, finally. Little squares of metal and parts started interchanging and making him bigger and I stepped back. He built himself up to full height then knelt down, outstretching his hand on the ground. I took a deep breath and climbed on. He lifted me up to his head and I jumped onto the metal surface, found the hatch, and climbed down inside. Inside was like a regular con-pod, except there was only one pilot hook-up. Knight helped me find his spare pilot suit in the maintenance hatch (Something we only recently started doing in the Jaegers) and told me how to put it on.

Once I was suited up, I strapped in and drifted for the very first time. It definitely wasn't an experience I wanted to repeat. I had to relive my most horrible moments and not think about them…_how does anybody do this?_ After we were completely ready, we started for the first Kaiju closest to us.

***Narrators POV***

The Kaiju noticed Dark Knight's approach and stood to it's full height, screeching loudly. It ran for the Jaeger, but at the last minute Knight stepped to the side so the Kaiju went past him. As the Kaiju past, Knight used his blade to slice off the silver device on it's neck. The Kaiju screeched and stumble, landing on it's side and skidding a few feet. Knight turned and found the next one, farther east near the water, and started for it.

The Kaiju bellowed and whipped it's spiked tail toward the Jaeger as it neared. Knight grabbed the tail with one hand and cut it off with the other. The Kaiju screeched in pain and lashed it's claws at the Jaeger. The claws slowly cut through the middle of Knight's white eagle in four jagged lines. Knight formed his sword and cut the head off of the Kaiju at the shoulders. Knight turned back around, facing the city, and a few yards away stood another Jaeger. It was crimson with a black chess piece air brushed onto it's chest.

They stood in a stare-down for a minute. Neither of them made the first move. Knight formed a shield with his left arm and a sword with his right hand, and the crimson Jaeger did the same. Abigail knew nothing about sword play, but she went with it. Both Jaegers moved forward, advancing on each other until about ten yards apart. Now closer, the piece became obvious. It was a Knight. Knights have a respect for each other no matter what side they play for. Fighting amongst each other must be a fight to the death.

Knight put up his helmet shield and the crimson Jaeger started the sword play with an over-handed swing. Knight parried with his sword, pulled away, and swung. This continued for a while before anyone advanced. Knight was able to slide his sword in between the other knight's shield and elbow socket, cutting off that arm. Knight quickly retreated to his former position as the other Knight tried to strike. Knight's shield blocked the blow. Knight pushed the shield and the other Jaeger's sword to the left and used his sword to stab the other Jaeger's core form the side.

They stood as that for a minute, Knight's sword in the other Jaeger's side, not moving. Then the other Jaeger slid off the sword and fell to the ground. His visor showed he was still online but he was not moving. Knight moved beside the other Jaeger and deformed his shield. He used both hands on his sword and thrust it into the core of the other Jaeger. There was a small explosion that blew up everything in a one mile radius. Knight stood and deformed his sword. Knight formed his hand into a silver, triangular device that's end glowed orange. He pulsed it and it sent an orange, half-transparent wave across the city.

Machines dropped where they stood and went offline all around the city. No one knew what was happening to them, but they were glad they were gone. Millions of machines were 'dead' and they weren't going to come back on.


	13. Chapter 12

***Abigail's POV* *Four Months Later***

**I **tossed my back pack in the back of the cab just before I slid in, shutting the door after. I told the driver my address and we started driving. I was so excited to finally be home. Australia never looked more beautiful than it did during the drive. Mom and dad weren't expecting me—I wanted to surprise them with my homecoming. I couldn't wait to see them, but also I was nervous and didn't want to go. I mentally hit myself for my stupid conflicted feelings. _Idiot_.

**We** pulled up to the end of my driveway and I took a deep breath. I shouldered my back pack exited the cab. I took a second to look over my childhood home. It looked like mom had been tending to the flower beds on the sides of the stairs. They might have even repainted. My eyes caught movement and I squinted to see. Dad came out on the porch and I could see his smile all the way from where I was standing. He started walking out to meet me and I sprinted up to meet him. I dropped my back pack and jumped on him, hugging him like I did when I was little.

He hugged me back as he laughed and I started crying. I'd missed him so much since I left. _So much_. I let go and my feet hit the ground. He smiled down at me and said the one thing I missed the most in the whole world, "Hey, Princess." My nickname. I wrapped my arms around his next tightly and more happy tears came rolling down my cheeks. "Hey, daddy" I said, quietly. I heard a crash and pulled away. Mom was standing on the porch, a broken pot on the floor in front of her. I glanced at dad before walking to the porch. I stopped at the bottom of the steps and mom looked at me with wide eyes. "Hey, mom" I said, smiling and half waving at my waist.

She looked like she was going to cry, too, as she walked down the steps and hugged me. I happily returned her embrace and held onto her tightly. She pulled away slightly and put both hands on my cheeks, looking me over. "My have you grown" she said.

"Too much, I think" I joked.

"I'm happy your home, sweetheart" she said, with her warmest smile.

"I'm happy to be home, mom" I said. Dad stood next to me and handed me my back pack. I shouldered it and mom led me inside the house. She was saying thing in a none-stop sentence containing everything I've missed. And it was all on the way up the stairs to my bedroom. Mom opened my old bedroom door telling me about how she left it as-is, and urged me inside with her. It was in fact exactly the same as I'd left it.

My orange and rose-colored bed was made, my books were sprawled across my desk, my Jaeger posters were still stuck to the walls, and a familiar pet of mine was waiting for me on my rug. "Scuttle!" I shrieked. My border collie wagged his tail and I knelt down to pet him. "Hey boy!" I said, scratching behind his ears.

Scuttle was the black and white Border collie my dad got me when I was eleven. I had lost a few teeth so instead of saying what his name was supposed to be—Scutter—it came out '_Scuttle_' and it just stuck. I sat back and looked at him seriously. "Scuttle, show me how to greet a ranger" I told him. He ducked his head and put his left paw up in a salute and held it there. "Good boy!" I said. He stood up and wagged his tail, shoving his head into me. "How are things going in Hong Kong?" mom asked, behind me. I stood and turned around to face her. "There's still a lot to do, but we're making good progress. We've even started rebuilding the Shatterdome" I said.

"Oh that's great. Now, how are you doing?" she asked. I sat on my bed and she sat next to me. Scuttle jumped up on the bed and laid next to me, resting his head on my lap. I stroked the top of his head while I spoke. "Fine. I'm still treating my shoulder burn, and I will be for a while still. Oh! I almost forgot to tell you, I met someone" I said.

"Really? Who is he?" she asked.

"Um…that's, uh, sort of hard to explain. But right now all you need to know is his name is Rhys Greene. And…" I trailed off my sentence as I lifted my left hand for her to see. She gasped and looked from the ring on my finger to me. "I know, I know, you haven't met him. But you will because he's coming here tomorrow for the New Year's party."

"I can't wait! Oh, my baby's getting married!" she said, excitedly. She hugged me briefly and stood. "I'll let you settle in. The rest of the guest will be here later tomorrow so feel free to sleep in. if you need anything don't be afraid to ask, I'll just be right downstairs." She smiled and then left me and Scuttle in my room. I sighed and started unpacking my things.

I was folding my clothes and putting them in my old dresser when I heard the weirdest phone ring. Then I realized it was my old landline. I picked up the phone and said, "Hello?" folding a shirt on my chest.

"Gee, don't act so happy to talk to me." as soon as I heard that sarcastic voice I knew it was Rhys. "The landline doesn't have caller ID" I protested, stuffing the shirt in a drawer.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure that's the reason" he said, sarcasm drenching his words. I sighed and rolled my eyes as I grabbed another piece of clothing from my back pack. "Where are you?" I asked.

"Well, about that…I couldn't really go through airport security—you know, metal bone structure and all—so I arranged alternate transportation. I'm on a boat on my way to Australia" he said.

"You're gonna be here in time, right? My mom is expecting a fiancée and I really don't want to have to explain why you're not there" I said.

"I'll be there, Abby. I promised, and I always keep my promises" he said. I finished folding my clothes and shut the drawer. I tossed my back pack to the floor and sat on my bed. "Good" I said.

"I'll see you when I get there" he said.

"Bye. I love you" I said.

"I love you, too" he said. I sat the phone back on the base and looked at Scuttle. He cocked his head and his ears pricked up. I smiled and he crawled forward onto my lap. He started trying to lick my face. "Scuttle!" I protested. He kept licking me and I started laughing. _Boy, did I miss my dog_.


	14. Chapter 13

**I** felt something heavy slam into my stomach and I groaned. I opened my eyes and saw a perky Pit bull standing on me, drool dripping from his mouth. I propped myself up on my elbows and huffed. "Max, I'm trying to sleep" I complained. He responded by licking my left cheek. "Max, we talked about this," I looked up and saw Chuck standing at my open door. "You can't go mauling people when they're trying to sleep. Out." Max looked back at Chuck for a minute and then hopped off the bed, running out the door. I sat up and eyed Chuck suspiciously. "What are you doing here?" I asked, sleepily.

"Ray-leigh had to go do something and your mum went to the store, so they asked me to be here so you wouldn't wake up to an empty house" he said, crossing his arms and lazily leaning against the door frame.

"You realize they want you to baby-sit me, right?" I asked. He shrugged then scrunched his face into a goofy expression. "Doesn't it give you warm fuzzies, me babysitting you? It's like the old days!" he said, sarcastically. I smiled and shook my head as I slid off my bed. I went to my dresser and pulled out the top drawer. I pulled out my grey hoodie and slid it over my white tank top then I closed the drawer and walked past Chuck and out of my room. I trotted down the steps to the living room and Scuttle perked up from the couch. He whimpered happily at me and I pat his head as I passed him into the kitchen.

I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and sat in one of the counter stools. Max came running into the kitchen and he sat next to my stool, looking up at me intently. I reached down and scratched his head and he huffed approvingly, tilting his head to the side. Chuck sat in one of the stools on the other side of the counter and I sat up. I leaned on my elbows and crunched on my apple. "So…what's up?" I asked.

"Nothing but the ceiling" he said, with a smirk.

"Where have I heard that one before?" I asked, with sarcasm. He chuckled. "Cute. So what are you wearing to the party?" he asked.

"I was thinking blue. Probably something short" I said.

"Is it that dress you got at that dress store in Hong Kong last year?" he asked.

"Yep," I said, nodding. "Do you think it's too blue? Do people even where blue to New Year's parties?"

"I don't know, I usually skip New Year's parties. I don't think it's _too_ blue per say. I think it's probably fine" he said.

"What time do think I should start getting ready? 'Cause I've got to shower and dry my hair—and that always takes long—and I'm going to wear make-up…"

"I don't know…the party starts at seven, so probably five or six" he said.

"Thanks Chucky" I said, sliding out of my chair and walking to the stairs. I was half up the stairs when I heard him shout, "It's _Chuck_! _Never_ Chucky!" I laughed and continued up the stairs to my room. I looked at my clock and saw it was already three in the afternoon, so I only needed something to do for about two hours until I had to get ready. I threw on a pair of dark denim jeans and a loose plaid button-down blouse. I brushed out my hair then put on my jacket and left my room. I went outside and to the large barn beside the house.

I pushed open the tall rolling door and walked inside. There were four stalls and two were empty. The two that weren't empty had horses in them. A brown horse with a black mane called Sugar Bell was in the first on and a white and black spotted one called Winter was in the third. I went to the closet in the back of the barn and brought out Winter's saddle and bridle. I put them on the rack next to her stall and got the halter hanging next to the door.

It took me a while, but I got the saddle on right and reminded myself how to bridle a horse. It only took me one swing to get up into the saddle. I hadn't been even near a horse in almost four years, so I a bit nervous. I used to jump with Winter when I was thirteen but stopped a year before I enlisted. I guess I just lost interest in it. I started off just walking around the property, then eased into to trotting. I finally got it to where I was galloping at full speed along the property line and back.

I slid to a stop a few yards before the drive when a familiar rusted pick-up truck pulled in the driveway. I pulled my phone from my pocket and checked the time. _5:15 PM_. I sighed and shoved my phone back into my pocket. I rode to the front of the barn and slid off. I put Winter away as fast as I could then high-tailed it into the house. Chuck and dad were talking in the living room when I walked in. I kissed dad on the cheek before running up the stairs to my room.

**The** party was now in only forty-five minutes and I hadn't even started my make-up yet. I finally got my neck straps tied and I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror, turning from side to side to get a full view of the dress. It fit snuggly on my torso but ruffled out from the waist down. It stopped a bit above the knee, and was a rich blue my uncle Yancy would call 'Tardis Blue'. I sighed and started putting on my make-up. It seemed like every minute the door bell was ringing and mom would let people inside.

I finally got my make-up just right and I stepped back to get a full view of my appearance. I checked my clock again. _6:58_ _PM_. I sighed and went into my room to get my shoes. I heard a rap or two on the door. "Come in!" I called, looking in the closet for my shoes. I knelt down and riffled through the shoes on my shoe rack for the right pair. I heard the door open and I could hear the music from downstairs just barely. "You know what time it is, right?" I heard a male voice form behind me. I turned to see who it was and went wide eyed.

Chuck was standing in the doorway to my closet wearing a deep wine colored button-down and black pants. They made him look devilishly handsome. "Wow…you clean up good" I said, turning back to my shoes.

"The time, Abby" he reminded.

"Right, yeah, I'm coming. I just have to find my shoes" I said. I riffled some more and finally found the right pair of shoes. Black flats with a little blue flower on the side of each shoe. I stood and slid my feet into the shoes then looked up at Chuck. "What do you think?" I asked. He looked over my outfit with mock concentration. "You look great. Now come on, you don't want to any later than you already are" he said, turning and walking out of my room. _Typical Chuck answer_. I sighed and followed him out of my room and down the stairs.

I couldn't tell what music was playing, but it was some kind of drum-guitar thing. Lots of people were here, mostly those that I didn't know. But I did see Yancy, Cat, Isabelle, and Mako were here. They looked like they didn't know anyone either.

I moved through the people and went to the group of my friends, picking up a full champagne glass on the way. I hugged them all at least once. "I'm so glad you guys could come!" I said, excitedly.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world since I heard you were coming" Yancy said, just before taking a drink form his glass.

"Did anyone see Rhys get in?" I asked.

"Sorry, no. he hasn't arrived yet," Cat said. "When's he supposed to get in?"

"I don't know," I said, shrugging and taking a swing of champagne. "He didn't say, he just said he'd be here."

"It just started. I'm sure he'll be here in a little while" Isabelle said. I nodded and looked around the room. "You look nice" Mako said. I looked at her and smiled. "Thank you, Mako. You look better than I do" I said, gesturing to her plum colored dress. She smiled and looked down. No matter what you put that girl through, it seemed like she was always shy and modest. I felt a hand on my shoulder just as Stacker Pentecost stepped beside me. "Hey, glad you could come" I said, smiling. He returned the smile and then he and Yancy got into a conversation about the rebuild.

"Ooh," Isabelle said, putting an arm around my shoulders and turning me to face the crowd of people. "There's dancing." Sure enough, I spotted several couples swaying to the music. "I've gotta go find my date" Isabelle said. I laughed and she wiggled through the crowd until she was out of sight. Cat stood at my right and Mako my left. "Before-parties always have slow starts" Cat complained, just before gulping the rest of her champagne.

"Don't you have a date to dance with?" I asked, sideways glancing at her.

"No, he bailed last minute, so I came alone" she said, matter-of-factly.

"What? That skunk bag!" I said.

"I didn't really like him anyway" Cat shrugged.

"What about you, Mako? Got a date?" I asked, turning to Mako. She shook her head and kept watching the dancing with a look that said _but-there-is-someone-here-I-like_. I crossed my arms and looked at her smugly. "Who is it?" I asked.

"What?" she asked.

"Who is it you want to dance with?" I asked. She shook her head again and shyly glanced at me. "He doesn't even think of me that way-" she started.

"Mako…tell me his name" I urged.

"…Yancy…" she said, finally. I gaped and then covered my mouth with my hand. "Well, shoot, Mako. Just go talk to him" I said. She shook her head at me. "No. I can't" she said.

"Wait here a minute. I'll be right back" I said. I turned and wiggle through a couple of people until I got to Yancy and Stacker. I wrapped an arm around Yancy's. "Mind if I borrow him?" I asked, looking at Stacker. He nodded. "Go right ahead" he said. I pulled Yancy aside and he raised an eyebrow at me. "I was wondering…what do you think about Mako Mori?" I asked.

"She's a real sweet girl" he said.

"Right, but I mean what do you _think_ about her?" I asked.

"Oh, I see. You're up to no good _matchmaking_" he said, crossing his arms with a grin.

"Look, I just need you to go ask her to dance, okay? Please?" I asked, with pleading eyes. He looked at me with a plain face for five seconds before he gave in and agreed to do it. He slipped past a few people and went to Cat and Mako. I inwardly squealed and then went to the kitchen to refill my glass. I stood at the kitchen counter as I poured more champagne in my glass and I looked at the people dancing. Isabelle finally got Chuck to dance with her. And I just barely noticed Mako and Yancy. I finished filling my glass then went out to the front porch.

It was just barely light outside as I sat on the cushioned-bench to the right of the door. The music just barely echoed out on the porch. I drank my champagne alone, watching the drive. It was just after eight o'clock and there was no sign of Rhys. _Go figure_. I sat back and pulled my legs up, folding them beside me. And I waited. _And waited…and waited…and waited… _


	15. The End

**Cat** found me on the porch a while later and dragged me back inside. She told me our little friend-group was going to ditch and go the harbor. "Come on, Abby, you have to go with us" Cat said, her words slurring a bit.

"Uh, Cat, I think you've had too much champagne" I said. She rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "Abigail Hope Becket, New Year's only happens, well, once a year and _you_ are going to come with us and have _fun_" she said. I sighed grudgingly and she pulled me through the crowd to the front.

She led me outside and to the black pick-up waiting in the driveway. She opened the back door and gestured for me to get in. "You know this is kidnapping, right?" I asked. She rolled her eyes. "Do what your captor says, and get in the truck" she said. I laughed and climbed in the back. I sat next to Isabelle, who was on the other side, and Cat slid in next to me.

I leaned between the front seats and looked our driver up and down. "You sure you're okay to drive, Chuck?" I asked. He gave me his signature look. "Abby…when have I ever been _not_ okay to drive?" he asked, sarcastically. I sighed and sat back in my seat. _I'm screwed_.

**We** parked near the sand next to a stretch of beach close to my house. Everyone got out, and I tried staying in the car, but Cat pulled me out. She put her hands on my shoulders and pushed me from behind, toward the sand. I sat a ways away from the water and planted my feet in the sand. Cat walked back toward the truck and I turned to face the water. Cat could be so pushy. Especially when she'd had too much to drink. A minute or so later Cat sat down next to me with a case of beer. "Come on, Abby, don't give me that look. Think of all the crap we've been through this past year and how we made it out alive. That's cause for celebrating" she said, opening a bottle.

"Seriously, Cat?" I asked.

"If you don't want to you don't have to. But you at least have to be here" she said.

"Fine" I said, with a sigh. She smiled and handed me a bottle. Like an idiot I took it and we tapped our bottles together before drinking. Cat never seemed like the party type…that is, until it's time to party, then she goes hardcore. Isabelle came over and sat down in front of us, gladly excepting a bottle from Cat. She was half soaked from messing around in the water and she couldn't stop smiling. She took a drink then said, "Wow, Abby, didn't picture you as the ride along type."

"Yeah, well…you know…don't have anyone else to be with tonight. Unlike some people here" I said, wiggling my eyebrows. Isabelle laughed shyly and playfully hit my arm. Then she held out her arms. "Seriously, though, where is Rhys? It's almost midnight!" she said. I shrugged depressingly. "I don't know. I tried calling an hour ago but it just went to voicemail" I said.

"He better be here or I'm going to ring his neck. The guy has bailed how many times since you've been official? Like a million! If you ask me, I'd say he's not into it" Isabelle said.

"Isabelle!" Cat said, giving her a what-for look.

"You call a spade a spade," Isabelle said, then turned to me. "You need to loosen up, Abby. Cat's right, he'll be here, is stupid of me to think otherwise. I'm just pointing out possibilities, okay? He'll be here." She stood and ran back toward the water again. I sighed and sat back, staring at my hands. _I hate girl-talk_. I heard a little beeping and Cat lifted her wrist, showing her wrist-watch. "Hey guys! It's officially _Twenty Forty-Nine_!" she shouted.

_And that's the last bit I remembered. _

**I** felt a pounding in my head as I weakly opened my eyes. Light shined in my window and I squinted—the light made my head hurt. I slowly sat up and noticed I was in shorts and a tank top. I didn't remember changing last night, but who knows? Maybe I did. I slowly stood and stumbled to the bathroom. I turned on the light and then wished I hadn't. I splashed water in my face and then looked at myself in the mirror. I looked like crap. I brushed out my hair ever so slowly as to not make my head ache worse, then I left my room and went downstairs.

The news channel was on on the TV, talking about last night's wild parties. I stood in the living room and looked at the idiots partying on the TV. _I hope I didn't look like that_. "Hey, look who's up." I turned and saw dad doing things in the kitchen. I sighed and walked to the counter stools, sliding onto one. Dad walked to the counter and looked me over. "So…you ditched last night. Have fun?" he asked, smiling because he knew I'd say no.

"Obviously I had some fun because I got drunk. But, no i didn't have fun because my Fiancée failed to show up to something important to me…_again,_" I said. "He didn't show up at all last night, did he?"

"No. we didn't see him. But we did see you, when Chuck brought you home. You were completely limp when he carried you in, practically gave your mother a heart attack" he said.

"Crap…where is she?" I asked.

"She's in Melbourne for the next three days. She left this morning" he said.

"…I'm sorry, dad, really…I didn't want to go in the first place, but Cat practically threw me in the car. I won't do it next time there's a party, I promise" I said. He walked around the counter and hugged me, kissing the top of my head. I pulled back when I heard something about a car accident form the TV. I walked to the couch and grabbed the remote, turning up the volume.

"_Last night at nine o'clock, an SUV collided with a compact,_" they showed pictures of the intersection that the crash happened in. it was at least two miles from our house. "_The driver of the SUV, we're told, was under the influence when the crash happened. He died on impact. But the driver of the Compact car was taken to Sydney Medical for minor injuries_. _He hasn't been identified yet_."

It wasn't hard to put two and two together. Rhys never showed and there is this mysterious guy in a car wreck a few miles from my house. A moron could figure that one out. I tossed the remote on the couch and hurried upstairs to my room. I threw on my jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed my jacket, then went back downstairs. Dad tossed me the keys to the truck and I went outside.

**Once** I got to the hospital, I walked to the front desk. The woman behind the desk smiled. "What can I do for you?" she asked.

"Um, there was a john-doe brought in last night from a car accident. I think I might know him" I said. She nodded and started typing on her computer. "I'll take you to his room" she said. She walked around the desk and motioned for me to follow her as she started down a hallway. She led me down the hall and around the corner to room 320. She opened the door and held it for me as I walked in. sure enough, Rhys was sitting on the edge of the hospital bed getting his stiches checked by a nurse. "So, this is where you got to" I said.

"Well, you know…car accidents are so much more exciting than New Year's parties" he said, jokingly. The nurse finished and left the room. Rhys stood and put his shirt on. "Are we going to talk about this?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"What is there to talk about?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe your lack of communication. I called you an hour before the accident—I know, I checked the times—and you didn't pick up. And maybe if you had you wouldn't have been on the road when that drunk driver was, and this wouldn't have happened" I said.

"You're mad," he stated.

"No, I'm _concerned_" I said. He snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. "I'm sorry, okay? I'll pick up the phone every time you call from now on, and I won't make a habit of getting into car wrecks" he said.

"Okay" I said, with a sigh. He kissed me and I didn't hesitate to return it.

***Present Day***

"And we lived happily ever after, the end" Abigail said. The two children both made noises of disagreement. "Mom, the story can't end like that" the girl said, her accent heavy.

"Yeah, it can't end like that" the boy agreed, with a much lighter accent. Abigail sighed and kissed both their foreheads. "Go to sleep. We've been up way past your bed time too much already. Goodnight" she said, walking to the door. She flipped the light switch, turning off all the lights in the room. "Mom?" the girl called.

"Yes, Juliana?" Abigail asked, turning back to the children.

"You can tell us the rest later, right?" she asked. Abigail chuckled softly. "Yes, sweetheart, I'll tell you the rest later" she said. She turned for the door but was stopped by a, "Mom?" from the boy. She turned back around to face them. "Yes, Ryan?" she asked.

"Goodnight" he said, yawning.

"Goodnight" Abigail said. She left the room and closed the door behind her. Juliana sat up and pushed off the covers. Her brother took notice and sighed. "Juli, it's time for bed" he said. Juliana ran across their bedroom to the closet and opened the door. She wondered inside and started feeling around on the floor. "What are you doing?" Her brother asked.

"I can't find-" just then her hand touched a familiar fabric and she smiled. "I found it!" she turned on the closet light and looked at the leather jacket she held. She turned it over and looked at the back. Gypsy Danger was sewn across the back along with little Kaiju marking it's kill count. "Why do you keep staring at that, Juli?" her brother called.

"Because," she called back with attitude. "One day _I'm_ going to be a Jaeger pilot. Just like grandma and grandpa."

"You're crazy" Her brother said, sleepily falling back into his bed. Juliana turned off the closet light and found her way back to her bed. She crawled in under the blanket with the jacket and laid down. She pulled the blanket over herself and the jacket, then slowly fell asleep holding it tightly to her chest.


End file.
